Importing Composite Properties from the Composite Design Workbench

You can import composite properties from the Composite Design (CPD) workbench into the Nonlinear Structural Analysis workbench to include them in a nonlinear analysis. Although a composite model created in the Composite Design workbench includes all the properties that define the behavior of the composite (material type, thickness, density, etc.), only some of these properties are imported into the Nonlinear Structural Analysis (ANL) workbench. The following composite properties are imported:

Other properties that have no bearing on the analysis—such as the uncured material thickness—are skipped during the import process.

Two analysis methods, By zone and By ply, are available for imported composite model properties. When you import composite properties into ANL, the analysis method used must match that used in the Composite Design workbench. For example, if you defined the model using plies in CPD, you must import the properties and run the analysis using the By ply method. The two methods are described as follows:

By zone

Zones are geometric areas of the model defined in the Composite Design workbench. Each zone includes geometric boundaries that can lie on the model boundaries or that can be defined by creating, joining, and splitting lines, and other operations. The zone definition includes the number of layers of each laminate material and any directional properties, including the layer orientations with respect to the model. Analysis by zones provides general results for a model, but it does not include the details available when you use individual plies.

By ply

Plies are the individual layers that make up the thickness of the composite structure. Each ply has a material and an orientation defined in the Composite Design workbench. Simple composites may have one set of plies that exist throughout the structure, whereas more complex composites may have changing numbers, orientations, and compositions of plies to meet the requirements of the design. For example, extra plies may be added to reinforce areas of high stress; similarly, plies may be removed in parts of the structure where they are not needed. Ply definition is more difficult than zone definition, and it carries a greater computational expense. However, the results allow a detailed evaluation of the reactions at each ply that is not available when you use a zone analysis and more closely models real composite behavior.

This task shows you how to use imported composite properties.

  1. Click the Imported Composite Property icon .

    The Imported Composite Property dialog box appears, and an imported composite property object appears in the specification tree under the Properties objects set.

  2. You can change the imported composite property identifier by editing the Name field. This name will be used in the specification tree.

  3. Select the 2D geometry representing the composite model; valid geometry selections must include a mesh.

    The imported composite properties will be those defined in the Composite Design workbench for the selected geometry.

  4. Choose the analysis type, By zone or By ply.

    The analysis type is dictated by the information available from the Composite Design workbench, for example, if the composite properties were created by zones, you must use the By zone analysis type.

    Tip:  Analysis results for the By zone method are less detailed than the ply-by-ply results available when you use the By ply method, but they may reduce the analysis time.

  5. Click the Component Edition icon to open the Filter Definition dialog box, and select the zones or plies to be included in the analysis.

  6. If you selected By ply, you can toggle on Transfer producibility to include manufacturing parameters in the composite. The producibility parameters attempt to align the fibers with the way a part must be formed based on a producibility analysis in the Composite Design workbench.

    The differences in results due to this option will be more apparent if the part has surfaces with significant curvature such as a hemisphere. If you do not use this option, fiber directions are transferred by basic projection onto the part surfaces.

  7. Toggle the Symmetrical option off to use the draping direction of the composite as defined in the Composite Design workbench. This option is toggled on by default, and the material is distributed symmetrically over the selected supports.

    Symmetrical distribution applies the composite thickness as though the selected supports are at the center of the composite thickness. Toggling Symmetrical off lays (drapes) the composite thickness on top of the supports as they would be layered on top of a mold; appropriate offsets are added in the analysis to account for the thickness. This option usually has little effect on the results for thin composites or for models with few plies.

  8. Use the Core sampling depth option to set a thickness for the composite. This option is useful if support surfaces are folded such that there may be multiple layers of the composite at a sampling point instead of a single thickness.

    The default value (0 mm) corresponds to an infinite depth. The core sampling positions are established by the selection of 3D points in the Composite Design workbench.

  9. Click OK in the Imported Composite Property dialog box.

For more information, see Importing Composite Properties in the CATIA V5 Generative Structural Analysis User's Guide.